Cabin Communications Blog

Anyone know where I am? I can’t help but channel Eddy Grant whenever I see this sign.

First, a bunch of qualifiers. Yes, I tried Twitter. Yes, I stuck with it for more than five minutes (a few months actually). And yes, I can see the benefit of it in a number of situations.

But….I don’t know. Call me old fashioned but I can’t help but view it as one more annoying electronic interruption in my day. I can conservatively say that well over 90 percent of the “tweets” I received were an utter waste of time. Maybe it was because I was getting them through my phone as text messages, making them especially annoying? Maybe because I wasn’t following the right people?

I guess my problem goes deeper than just finding Twitter annoying. I view most things through one of two lenses: (a) will (fill in the blank with the latest fad or device) help my productivity or bring value to my life or (b) will that same item help a hospital move the dial in its marketing/PR/communication efforts? So far I’m failing to see the value. 

Maybe there is a role for Twitter as an internal communications vehicle? Everyone could get a tweet telling them to get a flu shot or a reminder that the Department of Health is coming in five days?

I’m curious to hear from anyone who is using Twitter to either improve their productivity or somehow promote a hospital or its programs.

AP style. It’s what I’ve always preached and it’s dear to my heart, but lately I’ve been hearing tech-savvy people say that it just doesn’t work in today’s social media world. Here is an interesting blog post about the issue:

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog-post/ap-style-standard-meets-social-media-revolution-0 

Here’s another interesting post. It’s about the use of news releases in today’s internet world and how the old rules don’t apply anymore:

http://blog.brennerassociates.com/2008/12/05/rethinking-the-press-release.aspx?ref=rss  

It’s practically a knee-jerk reaction…if you launch a new program you must (must!) have a slogan for it, right? Hand-washing campaigns, recycling programs, joint replacement centers — they’re just not “real” without a slogan. And even better than the slogan…the employee slogan contest!  If the marketing/PR staff can’t come up with anything good then turn it over to the employees.

It might be time to stop and think about all of this.

Here’s an interesting article in Fast Company urging us to “fight the urge to think in clever taglines:”

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/131/made-to-stick-kill-the-slogans-dead.html

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a food lover.  No, not a snobby “foodie.” Just someone who loves a good meal.

Since I’ll hopefully be driving all over the Commonwealth meeting PR, marketing and development pros I’d love to get some recommendations on where to eat. Good local places, no chains please.

I’ll start off the conversation by recommending Pennsylvania BBQ, just outside Indiana, Pa. Friendly, family owned and a nice “log cabiny” atmosphere.  The menu features smoked baby back ribs, chicken and pulled pork sandwiches (“Put Some Pork on Your Fork” is the restaurant’s tagline) along with cornbread, cole slaw and baked beans. I tried it all. Trust me, it’s good. Check them out at www.pabbq.net.

After you’re done swabbing yourself off with a few dozen wet-naps, drive over to the Meadows to get a great frozen custard (www.meadowsfrozencustard.com). The Meadows has 17 sites in PA but hasn’t quite reached my area yet so I depend on trips out to central and western PA to get my fix. You have to love a place that is still serving the same recipe it started with in 1950. No politically correct, low-fat crap here. Just high-fat, artery clogging goodness. God I love it. 

E-mail me with your “Best Places to Eat in PA” and I’ll post your recommendation.

You always hear about the importance of first impressions. Lancaster General Hospital has first impressions down cold.

From the minute I walked up to the hospital’s entrance I knew this wasn’t going to be your typical hospital experience. For crying out loud, there was a working fountain outside! I didn’t get to see many fountains while I worked for 12 years at Temple University Hospital.

The lobby sure didn’t disappoint. Airy, bright, modern, comfortable and huge. There was even a player grand piano in there. I don’t exaggerate when I say you can barely tell you’re in a hospital.

I was at Lancaster General to meet Kim Payne, manager of Public Relations. Kim is relatively new to Lancaster, having worked at Pinnacle Health for a number of years. We grabbed lunch in a small café off the lobby (I had an excellent veggie Panini). I learned that Lancaster General is a Top 100 Hospital, some of its programs have made U.S. News & World Report’s rankings, it achieved Magnet status in 2002 and it has been named a “Best Place to Work in PA” six years running.

All in all, a hospital that seems to be hitting on all cylinders. I snapped some photos of a new 2,000-car garage (yes, 2,000) going up across the street, along with a new physician office building. Both are connected to the hospital with a cool, double-decker skywalk. Check out more about Lancaster General here – www.lancastergeneral.org.

After speaking with Kim, I picked up a job editing a 120-page manual for the hospital’s new bariatric surgery program. I also recently wrote a feature article for the hospital’s internal newsletter.  I hope there is more to come. 

After years of saying something along the lines of “Blogs? Who has the time to read or write blogs??” I’ve finally broken down and joined the ranks of America’s “citizen journalists.” The purpose of this blog is pretty basic – I want to document my travels across Pennsylvania as I strive to visit as many hospital PR, marketing and development professionals as I can.

Why am I doing this? Simple – I want everyone to know that Cabin Communications is the place to turn in PA if you need healthcare copy writing, PR, marketing collateral or development material.

We know what we’re doing. We have the healthcare background and experience. You don’t have to explain to us what a NICU is or what HIPPA stands for. We’re not afraid of working with doctors and we’re comfortable in a hospital environment. We’re good, we’re quick and we’re affordable (we’ll never suggest a retainer unless you do). If you need a single feature story written we’ll do it. If you need a larger campaign with collateral we can handle it. We’re not a “big-city firm,” we’re simply a couple of healthcare communications pros who know what we’re doing and believe in offering a good product at a fair price.

So, back to the blog. Here’s my offer: Call me, e-mail me, text me, mail me a letter (I dare someone to do this) and I’ll come buy you lunch or the meal of your choice. I’ll tell you a little bit about us and you can tell me about your needs and challenges. If there is some way we can help make your life easier, great! Even if you don’t need our services right now I’d still like to meet you. It’s just fun to sit and share stories and pains with fellow professionals. Plus, I need filler material for this blog!

Here’s my contact information:

Phone: 267-884-6329

E-mail: andy@cabincommunications.com

As an added incentive, the first five people who contact me and set up a meet-and-greet will receive a sweet treat for their entire department.

I can’t wait to meet everyone.